Overwegingen bij COM(2025)456 - Providing macro-financial assistance to Jordan

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dossier COM(2025)456 - Providing macro-financial assistance to Jordan.
document COM(2025)456 EN
datum 5 augustus 2025
 
(1) Relations between the European Union (‘the Union’) and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (‘Jordan’) are developing within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The Union and Jordan signed an Association Agreement on 24 November 1997, which entered into force on 1 May 2002 9 . Under the Association Agreement, the Union and Jordan gradually established a Free Trade Area over a transitional period of 12 years. In addition, an agreement on further liberalisation of agricultural products entered into force in 2007. In 2010, an Advanced Status partnership was agreed between the Union and Jordan that entails expanded areas of cooperation. A protocol on Dispute Settlement Mechanisms for trade between the Union and Jordan initialled in December 2009 entered into force on 1 July 2011. Bilateral political dialogue and economic cooperation have been further developed within the framework of the Association Agreement, the EU-Jordan Partnership Priorities adopted for 2022-2027 and the Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership, signed in January 2025.

(2) Since 2011, Jordan has embarked on a number of political reforms to strengthen parliamentary democracy and the rule of law. A Constitutional Court and an Independent Electoral Commission have been set up and a number of major laws, including the Electoral Act and the Political Parties Act as well as laws on decentralisation and municipalities, have been passed by the Jordanian Parliament. Legislative improvements as regards the independence of the judiciary and women’s rights have been adopted.

(3) The Jordanian economy has been heavily affected by prolonged regional instability, notably the conflict in Syria and, the conflict in Israel-Gaza, along with security disruptions in the Red Sea. These instabilities have added further uncertainty, undermining investor confidence, disrupting trade routes, and weakening tourism. These challenges have come on top of lingering economic and social impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic global price shocks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and higher borrowing costs linked to tighter global financial conditions. More recently, increased uncertainty of the global environement also represents an additional challenge. While Jordan has avoided a renewed economic contraction, in part thanks to the pursuit of sound macro-economic policies and reforms, the recovery remains sluggish. Unemployment remains persistently high, particularly among youth and women, and fiscal and external financing pressures continue to weigh on the economy.

(4) The conflict in Israel-Gaza alongside the renewed violence in the region, notably escalating tensions between Israel and Iran in mid-June 2025, led to flight suspensions in Jordan and is likely to further complicate the country’s fragile economic recovery, dampen investor and tourist confidence, and contribute to an increasingly uncertain outlook. Social tensions in Jordan have remained low but could rise if the ongong conflicts were to further escalate. Furthermore, climate-change risks exacerbating Jordan’s already dire water scarcity could hurt growth and add further pressures on government finances.

(5) In January 2024, the Jordanian authorities and the IMF agreed on a economic adjustment programme supported by a four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in the amount of USD 1.2 billion, which is currently being implemented. As of July 2025, Jordan's performance under the EFF has been strong, with all quantitative performance criteria and structural benchmarks met across the first three programme reviews (July and December 2024, and April 2025), triggering disbursements totalling USD 391 million out of the approved USD 1.2 billion.

(6) In April 2025, the Union adopted a fourth programme of macro-financial assistance (MFA-IV) 10 of EUR 500 million in the form of loans, in response to a request from Jordan in October 2023. The disbursements are planned over 2025–2027, upon fulfilment of agreed policy conditions in the Memorandum of Understanding, covering measures in public finance management, governance and anti-corruption, social and labour market policies, energy and business environment. The MFA IV follows from a series of three previous MFA programmes (MFA I: EUR 180 million; MFA II: EUR 200 million; MFA III: EUR 500 million + EUR 200 million top-up in response to COVID-19) provided a total of EUR 1.08 billion in loans between 2014 and 2023.  

(7) Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, the Union has made available approximately EUR 3.5 billion to Jordan under different instruments (including EUR 1.08 million under the three MFA operations) to help the country preserve economic stability, sustain political and economic reform and address its related humanitarian, development and security needs. In addition, the European Investment Bank has allocated around EUR 2.4 billion in project loans to Jordan since 2011. 

(8) For the period 2021-2024, Union’s bilateral indicative allocation (grants) under the Neighbourhood Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI-GE) to Jordan amounts to around EUR 360 million and is complemented by Union’s support to help Jordan address the impact of the Syrian crisis (EUR 214 million from 2021 to 2023) as well as other regional and thematic programmes. During the period 2014-2020, the Union provided support to Jordan mainly through the European Neighbourhood Instrument with EUR 765 million. During the same period, Jordan also benefitted from additional EUR 126 million channelled via the Neighbourhood Investmen Platform (NIP), which leveraged around EUR 580 million in investments. In 2021, under the Economic and Investment Plan (EIP), the EU launched more than 20 flagship projects in Jordan, committing approximately EUR 461 million (via grants, blending and guarantees) and leveraging around EUR 4.760 billion in total investment.

(9) In January 2025, in view of the still difficult economic situation and outlook, Jordan requested additional macro-financial assistance from the Union.

(10) Given that Jordan is a country covered by the ENP, it should be considered to be eligible to receive macro-financial assistance from the Union.

(11) The Union’s macro-financial assistance should be an exceptional financial instrument of untied and undesignated balance-of-payments support, which aims at addressing the beneficiary’s immediate external financing needs and should underpin the implementation of a policy programme containing strong immediate adjustment and structural reform measures designed to improve the balance-of-payments position in the short term.

(12) Given that a residual external financing gap remains in Jordan’s balance of payments over and above the resources provided by IMF and other multilateral institutions, the provision by the Union of additional macro-financial assistance to Jordan is, under the current exceptional circumstances, considered to be an appropriate response to Jordan’s request to the Union to support its economic stabilisation, in conjunction with the IMF programme. The Union’s enlarged macro-financial assistance would support the economic stabilisation and the structural reform agenda of Jordan, supplementing resources made available under the IMF’s financial arrangement.

(13) The Union’s macro-financial assistance should aim to support the restoration of a sustainable external financing situation for Jordan thereby supporting its economic and social development.

(14) The Union’s macro-financial assistance is expected to go hand-in-hand with the implementation of budget support operations under NDICI-GE established by Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council 11 .

(15) The determination of the amount of the Union’s macro-financial assistance is based on a complete quantitative assessment of Jordan’s residual external financing needs, and takes into account its capacity to finance itself with its own resources, in particular the international reserves at its disposal. The Union’s macro-financial assistance should complement the programmes and resources provided by the IMF and the World Bank. The determination of the amount of the assistance also takes into account expected financial contributions from bilateral and multilateral donors and the need to ensure fair burden sharing between the Union and other donors, as well as the pre-existing deployment of the Union’s other external financing instruments in Jordan and the added value of the overall Union involvement.

(16) The Commission should ensure that the Union’s macro-financial assistance is legally and substantially in accordance with the key principles and objectives, and of the measures taken within, the different areas of external action and other relevant Union policies.

(17) The Union’s macro-financial assistance should support the Union’s external policy towards Jordan. Commission services and the European External Action Service (EEAS) should work closely together throughout the macro-financial assistance operation in order to coordinate, and to ensure the consistency of, Union external policy.

(18) The Union’s macro-financial assistance should support Jordan’s commitment to values shared with the Union, including democracy, the rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights, sustainable development and poverty reduction, as well as its commitment to the principles of open, rule-based and fair trade.

(19) A pre-condition for granting the Union’s macro-financial assistance should be that Jordan respects effective democratic mechanisms – including a multi-party parliamentary system – and the rule of law, and guarantees respect for human rights. In addition, the specific objectives of the Union’s macro-financial assistance should strengthen the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the public finance management systems in Jordan and promote structural reforms aimed at supporting sustainable and inclusive growth, employment creation and fiscal consolidation. Both the fulfilment of the pre-conditions and the achievement of those objectives should be regularly monitored by the Commission and the EEAS.

(20) In order to ensure that the Union’s financial interests linked to the Union’s macro-financial assistance are protected efficiently, Jordan should take appropriate measures relating to the prevention of, and fight against, fraud, corruption and any other irregularities linked to the assistance. In addition, a loan agreement to be concluded between the Commission and the Jordanian authorities should contain provisions authorising European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 12  and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/966 13 , the Commission and the Court of Auditors to carry out audits and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to exercise its competences with regard to the provision of the Union’s macro-financial assistance during and after its availability period.

(21) Release of the Union’s macro-financial assistance is without prejudice to the powers of the European Parliament and the Council (as budgetary authority).

(22) The amounts of provisioning required for the Union’s macro-financial assistance should be consistent with the budgetary appropriations provided for in the multiannual financial framework. 

(23) The Union’s macro-financial assistance should be managed by the Commission. In order to ensure that the European Parliament and the Council are able to follow the implementation of this Decision, the Commission should regularly inform them of developments relating to the assistance and provide them with the relevant documents.

(24) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Decision, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 14 .

(25) The Union’s macro-financial assistance should be subject to economic policy conditions, to be laid down in a Memorandum of Understanding. In order to ensure uniform conditions of implementation and for reasons of efficiency, the Commission should be empowered to negotiate such conditions with the Jordanian authorities under the supervision of the committee of representatives of the Member States in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Considering the potentially significant impact of assistance, it is appropriate that the examination procedure as specified in Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 be used. Considering the amount of the Union’s macro-financial assistance to Jordan, the examination procedure should apply to the adoption of the Memorandum of Understanding, and to any reduction, suspension or cancellation of the assistance.